A Bird's Eye View of THE ENCHANTED SELF and what it means to YOU!

Written by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

Continued from page 1 The Third Gateway to Enchantment is Learning To Meet Your Needs and Negotiate for Yourself. The worst thing is to be so dependent on others and whims of others that we are not able to live out our dreams. We need education, skills, tools, and negotiating powers that will take us to fulfill our missions in life. So, don’t be afraid of education, don’t be afraid to go back for a degree at sixty, don’t be afraid to have a mentor, to look for advice, to find out how other people have succeeded in a particular field. For instance, I remember treating a young woman who had so much to offer but no path! Divorced and with two young sons she was forced back into parent's home and not happy about it. But once she started back to school and became a nurse all her doors opened for her. She had financial security, a home again for her boys and a future! It was tough but forth struggle. The fourth Gateway is experience of joy. This Gateway is so incredibly essential. It means replenishing yourself so that you are not running on empty. It also means not straining yourself, not accepting more assignments than you can really handle. When I have opened this Gateway I am able to bow out when I need to. Maybe I take that vacation I need or want or maybe I am just strong enough to say I will do this task later or you better find someone else to handle it and then I get a good night's sleep. By protecting my mind, body and spirit I not only set hontest guidelines with others, so I don't disappoint them, but I make room for joy. Replenishment leads to feeling good and joy fills us when we are full of life and vitality. Of course it is necessary to find ways to replenish ourselves that work. If you love to travel, look for ways to travel. If you love to be with your friends, get together, if you love to be with your grandchildren, then sit on floor and play games or plant a garden…whatever works for you. The Fifth Gateway is Gateway of Community. We all know how important it is to feel we belong, that others care about us and we care about others. But, what you may not realize is that belonging is a major way to offset depression. You see, more we are truly connected to others and feel a responsibility within a world beyond ourselves, less tendency is for us to get blue and withdrawn. Obviously, this is a very important Gateway. Finding right communities to connect are ongoing assignments for all of us-where we live, who are friends are, what church or synagogue we attend, what interest groups we identify with, etc. The Sixth Gateway is gateway of mentoring and being a mentor. Very often, we dismiss and minimize our own wisdom. We are wise, we have a tremendous amount we can offer others and there is always others to offer wisdom to ourselves. I love this little story that a friend told me. She said I am learning so much from my neighbor. I said, "Who is that?" She mentioned persons name. I had never heard her mention her name before even though we often chatted. My friend said, “Well, I don’t really know her, I just watch her.” I asked what do she meant. She explained, "She lives a few houses away and I watch her. I see how she greets her guests, how welcoming she is, how she always walks a guest out and says good-bye. I see her stand there until guest leaves. I see how radiant her smile is. Although she is twenty years younger than myself, she is a real mentor for me, I am learning from her all time." That is an example of how easy it is to be mentored. Even birds mentor us with their wonderful song. Start to look for mentors-you will find them all over. And don't forget that you are a mentor-perhaps even when you don't know it. Last but not least is Gateway of Positive Action or Good Deeds. So essential in all world and so essential for good.mental health. Research shows that more we help others, more generous in spirit we are, whether we give time, money, a smile, or a helping hand, our moods lift. Of course, if we offer to point of exhaustion then we defeat purpose and we will be on empty! The idea is to balance good mental health by using wise judgement calls of moderation and balance. These are Seven Gates; we go through them again and again in life. We never close a door on any of them, we are always back, we are always learning more, we are always having to reflect on our lives one more time or learn some new behaviors, make a new decision, recognize and acknowledge who we are and what we need and, of course, find new ways to bring pleasure and meaning into our lives. A PLAYDATE WITH ENCHANTMENT What I would like you to do now is to play with Seventh Gateway-that of Positive Action. Take a peice of paper write down 2 positive actions that you can do over next year. The first one is a positive action you can do for yourself. Make it something that will be good for yourself, such as to restore yourself or broaden your life. The second action is something that is good for world and of course will not harm yourself. You have a year to do these. Put them in your pocketbook, look at them once in awhile. Do you realize that just by actually doing these two actions you will: 1) bring more pleasure and joy to yourself and 2) improve world in some small way. Wow- two wonderful steps toward coming home to your ENCHANTED SELF!

Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein , originator of THE ENCHANTED SELF®, a method of bringing delight, purpose and meaning into everyday living, is a nationally known Positive Psychologist. Visit her website at http://www.enchantedself.com and sign up for her free e-mail newsletter and upcoming teleclass.

Archetypes

Written by Robert Bruce Baird

Continued from page 1

The block of sandstone, 28 ft. (8.6 m) long, which is called Dwarfie Strane, is an example, unique in Britain, of a rock-cut chamber. It may have been used for meditation or initiation; for 'at each end is a bed and pillow of stone capable of holding two persons, with a hole above to admit light and allow smoke to escape'. {We believe king’s chamber in Pyramid has a resting place rather than a sarcophagus. There were no mummies or bodies therein, and there was no top to this bed. The 'debunkers' of ancient knowledge say there was a grave robbing enterprise. These were not robbed and their uncovering through tunneling is well recorded. The grave robber priests of second millennia and later BC are a fact but they went were material treasures were housed and did not get into Giza Pyramids. They are also part of a time when ethic and culture of supposed Stone Age or earlier 'primitives' were no longer in charge. After Trojan Worldwide War things became worse in leaps and bounds. There was a 400 year 'Dark Ages' as Keltic/Phoenician 'Red-Heads' such as those being burned at graves of their long ago leader Osiris; decided New Zealand and Americas were better places to live and love life.} The early Christian saints of Ireland and Scotland {Like Columba and Pelagius, who still endeavoured to retain old 'Brotherhood' ideals [Iesa=Jesus] from before Rome when deviate behavior swept this opportunistic church.}continued tradition of using rock cavities for meditation and prayer. They chose mountains, islands and desolate places not only to avoid distraction but also to be closer to Sacred. The church near Bilbao, actually built round a group of natural standing stones, and dedicated to St. Michael, dragon-slayer beloved of Celts, is a remarkable example of Christianization of a sacred place.” (5)

We will go further along path of science that is proving existence of templates and archetypes in all of nature as we cover Dr. Robins’ work and Lamarckian evolution etc. Yes, universe might have an over-riding purpose and potential that insists on growth and creativity. If we don't allow each member of our human family to be able, through enabling support, we might not only be diminished; we might have a re-start of universal proportions as Martin Rees is saying about whole of our universe. He is a recognized expert in field for whatever that is worth, but what he says is in line with cycles of Hindu astrology to be sure.

Here is a simple exchange of knowledge from a forum on World Wide Web. It includes Iesa in a gospel that reflects back to things which ancients learned and gradually got imbedded or imbued into our genes and archetypes. But that knowledge of ‘oneness’ or what Jung calls ‘collective unconscious’ has another side or oppositional element. There are those who would use our ‘oneness’ against good of ‘the collective’.

This, your great name, is upon me, o faultless, self-born one, who is not outside of me. I see you, O one invisible before everyone. For who will be able grasp you in another language? Now that I have known you, I have merged myself with one who does not change. I have armed myself with luminous armor and have been luminous. For mother was there on account of lovely beauty of grace. Therefore I have reached out my folded hands. I have been formed by ring of wealth of light which is in my breast, which gives form to multitude born in light, where no accusation reaches. I shall sing your glory truly, for I have grasped you. SOU IES IDE AEIO AEIE OSIS O! Eternal, eternal god of silence, I honour you completely. You are my place of rest, O son, ES ES O E, formless one who exists in formless ones. He exists, he raises one by whom you shall purify me into your life according to your indestructable name. Therefore fragrance of life is in me. I have blended it with water, from pattern of all rulers, so that I shall live with you in peace of saints, you who exist forever.

My response:

Thank you for Hymnal Prayer of Egyptians. It has much of meaning of Iesa (Iesous in fish symbol [IXOYE] stolen by Christians) and even Zeus comes from this concept of Brotherhood of Man. That 'one mind' or collective that is known to ancients and which Jesus (Iesa through linguistics) may have allowed himself to be known.”

The Keltic program of 'Brotherhood' required sending children to far away places for their upbringing as we have mentioned. In matter of psychology it served to ensure disciplined people with few 'spoiled brats'. Much of our insanity comes from a confusion created in minds of undisciplined people. Habits and ego or choices to behave as idiots seem more likely causes of aberrant behavior than most psychologists want to allow. After all if discipline and meditation were all we needed then a lot of people would see what is going on: and education would have to become enabling for individuals rather than for our bureaucratic propaganda and psycho-civilizing purposes.